Latest news with #Rzeszow
Russia Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Poland threatens to close key Ukraine military aid hub
Polish President Andrzej Duda has threatened to shut down the country's main transit hub for Western military aid to Ukraine, accusing Kiev and NATO of treating Polish infrastructure as if it were their own. Warsaw has been one of Kiev's strongest supporters since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. The airport in Rzeszow, located just 80km from the Ukrainian border, has served as a vital logistics hub. According to Polish and Western officials, between 80-90% of NATO and partner-supplied military equipment destined for Ukraine has passed through the facility, including weapons, ammunition, and vehicles. However, speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Duda expressed frustration that Poland had not been included in key international bodies responsible for decisions on Ukraine aid delivered via Polish territory. He described the situation as a 'scandal.' 'They [Ukraine and NATO] think that the airport in Rzeszow and our highways belong to them, as if they're theirs. Well, they're not. They're ours,' the president said. Duda insisted that if Ukraine and its Western partners continued to treat the use of Polish territory as a given, Warsaw could shut down the hub 'for maintenance.' 'If someone doesn't like it, we close it and goodbye,' he said. 'Deliver [the aid] by sea, by air, I don't know, drop it by parachute.' He added that the issue was not limited to Ukraine, but reflected a broader imbalance in Poland's relationship with the US-led military bloc. 'We need to have the courage to speak with the Germans and Americans,' he insisted. Russia has consistently denounced foreign military aid to Kiev, arguing it only prolongs the conflict without altering its outcome. Moscow maintains that the shipments also escalate NATO's involvement and obstruct peace efforts. Duda is scheduled to leave office in August and will be succeeded by Karol Nawrocki, a historian and head of the Institute of National Remembrance. Nawrocki has publicly opposed Ukraine's potential accession to both NATO and the EU, arguing that the country is not ready and that full membership would carry unacceptable security risks. He has also condemned Kiev's veneration of wartime nationalist figures linked to atrocities against Poles during World War II. Following his inauguration, Nawrocki is expected to meet with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, but his administration is expected to adopt a more confrontational stance on bilateral relations and EU integration.
The Independent
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Airstrikes and sleeper agents: how Putin has repeatedly tried to killed Zelensky
A plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky at an airport in Poland last year involved a Polish pensioner who had been a Russian sleeper agent for decades, new reports have revealed. It is among what is believed to be dozens of attempts on the Ukrainian president's life since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In a closed briefing with local media this week, Ukrainian security services revealed that the retired Polish military officer had been recruited to assassinate Zelensky at Rzeszow Airport in Poland. Polish media reports that the attack was thwarted in April 2024 by Poland's internal security agency, and the man, identified as Pawel K, was charged in May this year. Less than a month after the attempted airport plot, Ukraine 's security services (SBU) said they foiled another assassination attempt on Zelensky. The SBU said in May 2024 that they arrested two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine who had reportedly been recruited before Vladimir Putin 's full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia 's security services, the FSB, to kill Zelensky. The State Guard is usually charged with protecting the country's top officials. The suspects were arrested on suspicion of enacting a plan drawn up by the FSB, according to a statement by the SBU. Head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, said the assassination was supposed to be a 'gift' from the FSB to Vladimir Putin ahead of his inauguration on Tuesday following a sham election. These are the most recent attempts by the Kremlin to assassinate Mr Zelensky that have been publicised - but they are likely not to be the last, either. In an interview in 2023, Mr Zelensky said he was aware of at least 'five or six' attempts on his life, though aides claimed in March 2024 that the Ukrainian leader had been targeted dozens of times. They said that he had survived three attempts in one week. The Times reported that more than 400 mercenaries from Russia 's Wagner Group in Kyiv in February 2022, when Putin launched his invasion, with orders to kill Mr Zelensky as part of an attempt to 'decapitate' the government in Kyiv. While the exact number of assassination attempts is unknown, The Independent has compiled everything we know about the attempts that have been made public. In August 2023, the SBU detained another Russian informant who was gathering details of Zelensky's planned trip to Mykolayiv, a city in southern Ukraine. The SBU said they caught the female suspect 'red-handed' preparing to hand over details of the trip so that Russia could carry out an airstrike against the Ukrainian president. The suspect was a salesperson in a military store in nearby city of Ochakov, who travelled around the territory of the district to film the locations of Ukrainian military objects, according to the SBU. They face up to 12 years in prison. On the first day of the war, on 24 February 2022, Russian special forces parachuted into Kyiv. At that time, Ukraine's western allies were urging Zelensky to leave the capital and set up a base outside the country.
The Sun
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Russian ‘Day of the Jackal' plot to assassinate Zelensky at Polish airport foiled by Ukraine as would-be hitman arrested
UKRAINE foiled a Day of the Jackal plot to assassinate President Zelensky with a sniper. Russia's feared FSB spy service had activated a sleeper agent to carry out the hit in Poland. 7 7 7 7 The would-be killer was a retired military officer, Ukraine's SBU spy service said yesterday. He had been recruited 'decades earlier' and was planning to kill Zelensky at Poland's Rzeszów Airport – where British troops were based. It echoes the plot of the Jackal spy thriller – remade with Eddie Redmayne last year – in which a sniper attempts to a kill high value target but ultimately fails. Ukraine's SBU spy chief Lt Gen Vasyl Maliuk said the FSB agent plotted 'several options' including a sniper and a drone. He said: 'The task was the physical elimination of President Zelensky at Rzeszow airport. 'Several options were considered. One of them was an FPV drone, the other was a sniper.' Maliuk said the sleeper agent had been recruited through nostaliga for the collapsed USSR and "nurtured" over many years. He was detained in a joint operation with Poland's Homeland Security Agency. He claimed over 500 Russian spies had been caught during the war – including two senior colonels whose job was to guard top officials. Maliuk said the boss of the FSB's feared Fifth Service, Lt Gen Sergey Beseda, was sacked by President Putin when the plots failed. Ukrainian troops advance as they blast Russian self-propelled howitzer Details emerged as President Zelensky swooped into London for talks with Keir Starmer on military aid. Both men have flown through Rzeszow travelling to and from Ukraine. Zelensky told The Sun he had lost track of all the attempts to kill him, and compared it to a bout of covid. He said: 'The first one is very interesting, when it is the first time, and after that it is just like Covid. 'First of all people don't know what to do with it and it's looking very scary. 'And then after that, it is just intelligence just sharing with you detail that one more group came to Ukraine to [attempt] this.' 7 7 7 Russian special forces parachuted into Kyiv to kill him on the first day of Putin's full scale invasion, on Feb 24, 2022. In February, Zelensky also revealed how he almost got killed in an assassination attempt orchestrated by the Kremlin inside his secured presidential fortress. The brave leader revealed that people died inside his office in Kyiv when Vladimir Putin sent hitmen to wipe him out and take over Ukraine. In an interview with the Guardian, Zelensky said he was attacked by the Russians amid efforts to force Ukraine to accept a peace deal in the wake of the full-scale invasion. If everyone wants peace why is the war in Ukraine still raging? The answer is very simple By Jerome Starkey EVERYONE says they want peace, so why is the war still raging in Ukraine? The short answer is simple: Peace means very different things to very different people. They have different goals and different motives. Vladimir Putin wants total conquest. And he wants to be remembered as a modern Tsar who restored Russia's imperial greatness. Ukraine wants to survive, as a sovereign independent nation. Europe wants a chastened Russia and peace that lasts beyond six months. Trump just wants a deal — any deal at any price — with minerals thrown in for good measure. He wants to claim the glory and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize for sorting out the carnage which he sees as Barack Obama and Joe Biden 's mess. The American position is clear from the terrible deal they want Kyiv to accept. Their so-called seven-point peace plan would freeze the war on the current front lines and force Ukraine to surrender almost all of its occupied territories — some 44,000 square miles — with almost nothing in return. That is an area the size of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is roughly 20 per cent of Ukraine's sovereign territory. In return, Russia would hand back small pockets of territory, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and give Ukraine unhindered access to the mouth of the River Dnieper. Moscow would also give up its ambitions to capture the parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces that its troops have been unable to take by force. But crucially, for Ukraine, there are no security guarantees. That means there is nothing to stop Russia catching its breath, rearming and invading again a few months or years later. The president added: "There were people who wanted to kill [me]. There were gunshots and more. "Some people were killed here, inside the Presidential Office, others were defending us." Zelensky did not reveal the number of people killed during the act, nor did he specify if they were Russians, Ukrainians, or both. Details of the latest plots came as came as a massive missile and drone blitz killed at least eight people in Kyiv and injured dozens more. Ukraine's President Zelensky said a hospital and several homes were hit when Russia fired more than 360 missiles and drones.
South China Morning Post
23-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Ukraine reveals details of alleged plot to assassinate President Zelensky last year
Ukraine's SBU intelligence service on Monday released details of an alleged assassination plot against President Volodymyr Zelensky by a former Polish soldier. Advertisement The plot, which was to be carried out in Rzeszow in south-eastern Poland, dates back to early last year, when arrests were made in both Ukraine and Poland The soldier had been recruited by Russian intelligence services decades ago, motivated by a sense of nostalgia for the Soviet Union, SBU head Vasyl Malyuk said. A drone or a sniper was to be used to assassinate Zelensky at the city's airport, according to Malyuk. Among those involved were two former Ukrainian colonels from Zelensky's bodyguard, whose arrests Malyuk announced in May last year. The former Polish soldier was detained by Poland's ABW counter-intelligence agency in April last year, based on information provided by the SBU. Polish prosecutors charged him last month with collaborating with a foreign intelligence agency. Advertisement Rzeszow, a regional capital, lies about 70km (43.5 miles) from the Ukrainian border and serves as a key hub for arms deliveries and political visits to Ukraine. When travelling abroad, Zelensky typically takes a train from Kyiv to Rzeszow, where he then boards a Ukrainian government plane.
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
SBU chief reveals details of Zelensky assassination plot
The head of Ukraine 's security services (SBU) today revealed more details about a plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelensky at an airport in Poland. SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk (R) told reporters at a press conference in Kyiv that a Polish military veteran named Pawel K. was working with Russia's military intelligence services on a plot to murder Zelensky at Rzeszow Airport last year. But Malyuk today gave more information about the case, claiming the Pole had been 'activated' by Russia's intelligence agencies and was set to take a shot at Zelensky with a sniper rifle. He had also explored the possibility of using a first-person-view (FPV) drone to target the Ukrainian leader, Malyuk said. The details, first reported by RBC Ukraine, emerged hours after Zelensky boarded his presidential jet at Rzeszow Airport and headed for London where he met with King Charles earlier today. Rzeszow Airport was not a significant location for air traffic prior to Russia's full-scale invasion, but quickly became a central hub for the provision of aid to Ukraine, and as a departure airport for Ukrainian officials taking part in foreign delegations. In March 2023, a group of foreign citizens were arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia in the vicinity of the airport, Polish government officials said. Polish security services reportedly broke up the spy network accused of installing secret cameras at Rzeszow to film the transport infrastructure used to deliver aid to Ukraine.
